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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
public works and utilities, urban cleansing and public health, and the police, are not always servants of the central government. In Hong Kong, the Medical and Health Department (16,400), the Public Works Department (17,200), the Urban Services Department (22,200) and the Royal Hong Kong Police Force (24,400) account for a total of 80,200 posts or about 60 per cent of the entire civil service.
The service has grown from 17,500 in 1949 to about 69,000 in 1967 and now to nearly 123,000. This reflects both the continuing expansion of existing services, in line with the increasing population, and the development of new services to meet changing needs.
The cost of the civil service is reflected in the expenditure on personal emoluments. For the 1979-80 financial year, this is estimated to be about $3,150 million, excluding pensions. This is about 38 per cent of the total estimated recurrent expenditure for the year.
During 1978 and 1979, a number of disputes occurred with individual civil service staff associations pressing their claims for more pay. The reasons behind these claims were complex, but one important aspect was the time which had elapsed since the last compre- hensive review by a salaries commission in 1971. The predominant theme of the associations' claims was that they were underpaid relative to other groups of civil servants, rather than to people employed in the private sector.
A new Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service was appointed in January, 1979. It immediately embarked on a review of the principles and practices governing civil service pay, and began examining the pay and structure of indivi- dual grades. This commission was different from previous salaries commissions in that it was permanent, and was composed entirely of part-time members who were not government officials. An unprecedented degree of consultation with staff associations was involved in the establishment of the commission and, in its first months, the commission continued and developed this trend. The commission made its first report in July on the principles and practices governing civil service pay. Recommendations on pay levels for individual grades were submitted to the government three months later, in October.
The establishment of each post in the civil service requires the approval of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council, assisted by the advice of its Establishment Sub- Committee. The Finance Committee examines all requests for additional posts to ensure that staff are properly utilised and that new posts are provided only when necessary.
Recruitment and promotions in the civil service in the middle and senior ranks are subject to the advice of the Public Services Commission. This was set up in 1950 and is independent of the government. The commission also advises the government on discipline cases. There is a full-time chairman of the commission and leading citizens are appointed as members on a part-time voluntary basis.
Overall responsibility for recruitment, promotion, conditions of service, staff relations, pay, training, discipline and structure of the civil service lies with the Civil Service Branch of the Government Secretariat.
Government Secretariat
The Chief Secretary is the Governor's principal adviser on policy, the chief executive of the government, the head of the civil service and the chief government spokesman. His office, the Government Secretariat, co-ordinates and supervises the work of all government departments.
The Financial Secretary is responsible for financial and economic policy, and for the overall supervision of departments primarily involved in this field.